Sri Lanka failed to properly investigate allegations of human rights abuses during the years it was in conflict with the Tamil Tigers, dpa quoted the watchdog Amnesty International as saying today. The human rights group said the "failed" system in place for the "past twenty years has trapped the country in a vicious cycle of abuse and impunity." A new report by Amnesty, entitled Twenty Years of Make Believe, looked into the commissions of inquiry set up by the Sri Lankan government over the years. It was issued following a decision at the United Nations' Human Rights Council last month not to investigate allegations of war crimes by government forces and the rebels. The resolution, which praised the government, passed. It was pushed forward or supported by Sri Lanka's allies, including China, Russia, Pakistan and India. Yolanda Foster with Amnesty said Sri Lanka's government could not investigate human rights abuses or war crimes allegations on its own. "At this stage, Sri Lanka cannot go at it alone," Foster told reporters in Geneva. Among the charges alleged by Amnesty are mass killings, targeted attacks, abductions, forced "disappearances" and torture. The report was based on interviews conducted with people in the country and refugees living abroad. The rights group accused the government and paramilitary forces aligned with it, as well as the rebels, of "grave" abuses. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, the director of the Colombo-based Center for Policy Alternatives, said the rule of law in Sri Lanka had "broken down." A separate report by the International Bar Association indicated there was widespread intimidation of journalists, human rights activists, judges and witnesses. In some cases, reporters and others ended up dead in suspicious circumstances.
